Container having a severable liner



Jan. 9, 1968 R. v v. ASMUS ETAL 3,

CONTAINER HAVING A SEVERABLE LINER Filed Jan. 28, 1966 F 5 INVENTORS IF/C/LM/PO M 4.9405, J a

Y ,Zwmx $9, '9 E? ,4 rroiA/eys United States Patent Ofitice 33%,574Patented Jan. 9, 1968 3,362,574 CONTAINER HAVING A SEVERABLE LHIERRichard W. Asmus, 3628 W. 48th St., and Andrew E. Jeclter, 3610 W. 49thSt, both of Cleveland, Ohio Filed Jan. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 523,652 9Claims. (Cl. 220-63) This invention relates to a sealed containerassembly.

Various liquid and solid products, particularly food and beverageproducts, must be stored in substantially rigid containers which must beair-tight in order to preserve the quality and purity of the product.Conventional containers for this purpose have usually been either a canwith an integral top or a can or bottle with a removable closure makingan air-tight seal with the body of the can or bottle. In the case ofintegral top cans, the top is either removed by using a can opener or itis punctured by the use of a special tool or by removing an integralsnap tab. In the case of a container with a removable, sealed closure,considerable manual effort is required to break the seal and remove theclosure.

The present invention is directed to a novel sealed container assemblywhich avoids the necessity of using either a special opener orappreciable manual effort in order to break the seal and open thecontainer.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel container assembly isprovided which comprises a rigid container body having a readilyremovable closure, usually a top, and a flexible inner liner which sealsin the contents and is arranged in a novel manner to be torn open whenthe closure is removed from the container body.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel andimproved sealed container assembly.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a container assemblyhaving a novel sealing arrangement which enables the use of a readilyremovable closure which itself is not required to seal in the contentsof the container.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of three presently-preferredembodiments, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section through a first embodiment of the presentcontainer assembly, showing the position of the parts with the containerclosed, but before its contents have forced the inner liner against theremovable top closure;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper end of the FIG. 1container assembly, shown after its contents have forced the inner lineragainst the removable top closure;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded sectional view of the upper end of this samecontainer assembly after its top closure has been removed;

'FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view of a second embodiment of thepresent container assembly, broken away at the middle, showing theposition of the parts after its contents have forced the inner lineragainst the removable top closure; and

FIGURE 5 is a View similar to FIG. 4 and showing a third embodiment ofthe present invention in which the flexible inner liner lines only oneend of the container.

Referring to FIG. 1, the container assembly shown therein comprises arigid outer container body 10, a rigid removable top closure 11 for thiscontainer body, and an easily tearable, flexible inner liner 12.

The outer container body 10 may be a metal can or a glass or plasticbottle of any desired shape, having sufiicient rigidity to enable thecontainer to be handled easily and safely. This container body has acylindrical upper end provided with external screw threads 13 or otherlaterally projecting members adapted to cooperate with complementaryparts on the removable closure 11.

The closure 11 may be of metal or other suitable rigid material,presenting a top wall 14 and a depending annular flange or skirt 15which encircles the upper end of the outer container body 10. Thisflange is formed at the inside with screw threads 16 or other lateralprojections which cooperate with the projections 13 on the outercontainer body 10, so that the closure 11 may be attached or removed byturning it with respect to the outer container body 10.

The flexible inner liner 12 may be a sheet of suitable plastic, metalfoil, or laminated construction. Initially, this liner is open at thetop, and after being placed inside the outer container body 10 it isfilled with the product to be stored in the container, such as beer.Then the upper end of the liner is closed and sealed, such as by heat orultrasonically. At this time the inner liner 12 has a loose fit withinthe outer container body 10, as shown somewhat exaggerated in FIG. 1,with the upper end of the liner spaced below the upper end of the outercontainer-body 10 and presenting folds which enable it to be expandedlater to snugly fill the container.

In accordance with the present invention, a suitable adhesive 17, suchas a thermosetting resin, is applied to the inside of the outercontainer body 10 at a suitable distance below its upper end. Also, theinside of the top wall 14 of the removable closure is provided at 18with the same adhesive.

After the top closure 11 has been screwed onto the outer container body10, the contents enclosed within the inner liner 12 may be suitablytreated so as to develop pressure. For example, in the case of beer,pasteurization will cause it to develop a pressure which will beeffective to expand the inner liner 12 tightly against the inside of theouter container body 10 and up against the inside of the removableclosure 11. The inner liner 12 will become adhesively secured at 17 tothe inside of the outer container body 10 and at 18 to the inside of theremovable closure 14.

Alternatively, the product to be stored in the container may be anysuitable liquid or solid product which is introduced into the innerliner 12 while the container is positioned top down, so that the weightof this product will force the inner liner into adhesive engagement withthe container body at 17 and with the removable closure at 18. In suchcase, the filling of the liner may be done from the opposite end forstorage of its contents under vacuum, or at atmospheric pressure, orunder aboveatmospheric pressure by known techniques.

The closure 14 has a sufiiciently loose fit on the outer container body10 that it does not provide an effective seal and, as shown in FIG. 1,the inside of the top wall 14 of the closure may be spaced above the topedge of the outer container body 10 by as much as 4; inch. However, asshown in FIG. 2, the pressure or weight of the contents will force theinner liner 12 into this gap. Accordingly, the relatively low strengthinner liner 12 will be rigidly rein-v forced throughout its extent bythe rigid outer container body 10 and the rigid closure 11, so that itwill not burst even under pressures far in excess of its burstingstrength in the absence of such reinforcement. With this arrangement,therefore, the inner liner 12 performs the function of scaling in thecontents ofthe container, while the outer container body 10 and theremovable closure 11 provide the necessary rigidity.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the closure 11 is twisted off the outercontainer body 10, the inner liner 12 will be torn apart, preferablyalong a tear line just above the top of the adhesive 17 which attachesit to the outer container body '10, the upper end of the inner liner 12remaining adhesively secured at 18 to the inside of the now-removedclosure 11. The closure 11 is easily removed because of its relativelyloose, non-sealing fit on the outer container body 10 and because theinner liner 12 is easily torn.

FIGURE 4 shows a second embodiment of the present container assembly inwhich parts similar to those of the first embodiment (FIGS. l-3) aregiven the same reference numerals plus 100. The description of thesesimilar parts will be omitted as unnecessary.

In FIG. 4, the removable closure 111 has, in addition to its outerflange 115, an inner depending annular flange or lip 120 which fitsinside the upper end of the outer container body 110 when the closure isin place. The upper end of this inner flange 120 curves laterallyinwardly to merge smoothly with the top wall 114 of the closure. Theentire inside surface of the top wall 114 and the inner flange 120 ofthe closure 111 is coated with adhesive 118 for engagement by the upperend of the inner liner 112 when the pressure or weight of its contentsforce the inner liner tightly against the inside of the outer containerbody 110 and the removable closure 111.

The lower edge of the inner flange 120 co-acts with the inner liner 112to insure that the latter will be torn below the top edge of thecontainer body 110, so that the latter provides a rigid pouring lip. Inother respects, the use and operation of the FIG. 4 embodiment of thepresent invention are essentially the same as for the embodiment ofFIGS. 1-3.

FIGURE shows a third embodiment of the present container assembly inwhich parts similar to those of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1-3) aregiven the same reference numerals plus 200. The description of thesesimilar parts will not be repeated.

In FIG. 5, the inner liner 212 extends across only the upper end of thecontainer body at the inside. The lower end of this liner terminates ator near the lower edge of the adhesive 217 which joins it to the insideface of the side wall of the container body 210. Below this location thecontainer body 210' itself provides the seal for the contents. Abovethis location the liner 212 provides the seal.

Except for this change in the inner liner, the assembly of FIG. 5 isidentical in construction and mode of operation with that of FIGS. l3.

In each of the illustrated embodiments of this invention, the flexibleinner liner (12, 112 or 212) provides the necessary air-tight seal wherethe removable closure is attached to the container body. Consequently,the engagement between the closure and the container body need not beair-tight, so that a special tool is not required for opening thecontainer. Instead, the closure may be easily removed manually and in sodoing the inner liner is torn open to break the seal. After the liner istorn, the upper edge of the container body is exposed at the inside toprovide a rigid pouring edge.

If desired, the present invention may be embodied in containerassemblies different from the specific arrangements shown. For example,instead of a screw-on attachment the removable top closure may beattached to the outer container by a snug frictional fit, if desired, inwhich case it will be removed by prying oft manually instead of twistingolf. Therefore, while three presently-preferred embodiments of thisinvention have been shown and described, it is to be understood thatvarious modifications, omissions and refinements which depart from thedisclosed embodiments may be adopted without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A container assembly comprising:

a rigid container body having an opening;

a rigid closure removably mounted on said container body closing saidopening;

a readily tearable, flexible, inner liner sealingly secured to theinside of said container body and extending across the interior of thecontainer body and providing a seal for the latters contents at theinside of said closure;

and means for adhesively securing said inner liner to said closure,whereby removal of said closure from the container body causes saidinner liner to be torn to expose the contents of the container body.

2. A container assembly according to claim 1, wherein saidlast-mentioned means is an adhesive coating on the inside of saidclosure.

3. A container assembly comprising:

a rigid container body having an opening at one end;

a rigid closure removably mounted on said container body closing saidopening, said closure having a nonsealing fit on said container body;

a readily tearable, flexible, inner liner at the inside of said closureextending across the interior of the container body;

adhesive material securing said inner liner to said container bodyaround the inside of the latter in spaced relation to said opening toprovide a seal for the contents of the container body;

and adhesive material securing said inner liner to the inside of saidclosure in spaced relation to its adhesive attachment to the inside ofsaid container body, whereby removal of said closure from the containerbody causes said inner liner to be torn adjacent its adhesive attachmentto the container body to expose the contents of the container body.

4. A container assembly according to claim 3 wherein said container bodyand said closure have complementary lateral projections which interfitloosely with one another when said closure is turned with respect tosaid container body.

5. A container assembly according to claim 4, wherein said containerbody has external, screw-threaded, lateral projections at said one end,and said closure is a flanged end cap having internal, screw-threaded,lateral projections complementary to said projections on the containerbody.

6. A container assembly according to claim 3, wherein said inner lineris a continuous enclosure extending across the inside surfaces of saidcontainer body and rigidly supported by said container body and saidclosure.

7. A container assembly according to claim 3, wherein said closurepresents an end wall extending completely across said opening and spacedfrom the top edge of said container body at said opening, and said innerliner extends into the space between said end wall of the closure andsaid top edge of the container body.

8. A container assembly according to claim 5, wherein said closure hasan inner flange which fits inside said opening in the container body,and wherein adhesive material is provided on the inside of said innerflange for securing said inner liner to said closure.

9. A container assembly according to claim 3, wherein said inner linerterminates in a lower edge adjacent its adhesive attachement to thecontainer body, leaving the lower part of the container body exposed atthe inside to said contents.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,190,485 6/1965 DAndrea et a1220-48 THERON E. CONDON, Primaly Examiner.

G. T. HALL, Examiner.

1. A CONTAINER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A RIGID CONTAINER BODY HAVING ANOPENING; A RIGID CLOSURE REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID CONTAINER BODYCLOSING SAID OPENING; A READILY TEARABLE, FLEXIBLE, INNER LINERSEALINGLY SECURED TO THE INSIDE OF SAID CONTAINER BODY AND EXTENDINGACROSS THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTAINER BODY AND PROVIDING A SEAL FOR THELATTER''S CONTENTS AT THE INSIDE OF SAID CLOSURE; AND MEANS FORADHESIVELY SECURING SAID INNER LINER TO SAID CLOSURE, WHEREBY REMOVAL OFSAID CLOSURE FROM THE CONTAINER BODY CAUSES SAID INNER LINER TO BE TORNTO EXPOSE THE CONTENTS OF THE CONTAINER BODY.